An Overwhelming Return
by WildFlower084
Summary: Booth is confused after Bones' return from Guatemala. Alternate Season 5
1. Chapter 1: Confusion

**A/N:** Well, I'm BACK! Sorry for not writing much over the last year and a half but, let's admit, season 4 didn't give us much room to write something (unless it's AUs). The promos for season 5 gave me this idea but I had to wait until I had seen the premiere before writing it. If you haven't watched it yet, be warned: MAJOR SPOILERS INSIDE! If you're lucky and that you live in Canada or that you're already seen the episode, just have fun! And don't forget to comment!

Oh, and also, bare with me. I haven't written anything in english in a very long time! There might be some spelling and grammar mistakes. Don't worry, though. I'll work on it. :)

**WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON PREMIERE!**

* * *

"You did _what?_"

Camille stared at her friend, bewildered.

"You heard me."

"_You_ told Dr. _Brennan _that you were in love with her?"

Booth nodded, his eyes staring off into space. He could feel Cam's eyes on him, her gaze burning holes into his skin. He couldn't bare to look at her. With his reunion with his partner and his first days back on the job, he felt tired, overwhelmed and, more importantly, confused.

What had he done? He had told his partner of five years, the only woman in his life he knew to be absolutely terrified of trusting and truly loving someone, that he was in love with her. And, more importantly, he had taken it back like a coward.

"How did she take it?"

Booth downed his drink.

"I took it back," he mumbled in reply, looking down at the now empty glass in his hands.

"I'm sorry?"

"I took it back," he replied a little louder, his jaw clenched.

Camille chuckled in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not."

His fingers held a firm grip on his glass, his knuckles turning white. The expression on Brennan's face as he had made his declaration flashed before his eyes. She had almost looked hurt and... disappointed. It didn't make sense.

"Why did you take it back?"

"I freaked out, okay? I saw her face and I freaked out."

Booth sighed, frustrated. It didn't used to be like that. _He_ didn't used to be like that.

He'd used to be so sure of himself, so confident, feeling as though nothing go wrong in his life. That, whatever happened, it would all work out positively in the end. Then he'd learned about the tumor, the surgery. He had felt so nervous, so... mortal, for the first time in long while. She had been there, his partner, his Bones. She had never left his side, just like he felt he had been doing for her all along.

And he had woken from his coma, feeling confused by what he had dreamed about. As he looked at his partner's face, the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, he'd been more than confused. Who was she? His wife? His partner? A stranger?

Despite what Avalon had told him, he felt as though he had lost something. Or, at least, something inside of him had changed. And, in spite of what Sweets had told him, it had nothing to do with a pink area of his brain being lighted. A part of him had melted away. He could feel it. He just didn't know yet which part had walked out on him.

"I just told you to be sure of your feelings towards her. I never meant to freak you out. I was just being your friend, Seeley."

Camille's voice brought him back to reality. He turned towards her and forced a tiny smile.

"It's not you," he replied.

His fingers toyed with a napkin.

"It's not _only_ you. Sweets also said something to me. I... I just couldn't argue with him. I mean, what if he's right?"

Cam frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"He showed me those scan images, the ones that were taken at the hospital before and after my surgery. They showed glowy spots in my brain that are supposed to represent love or something. He said they weren't glowing before my operation and now they are. He thinks the dream I had triggered those areas and made them light up."

Cam scoffed.

"Well, no offence to Sweets, but he's still a kid. What does he know about love?"

Booth chuckled.

"Yeah."

Silence immediately followed. Booth began shredding the napkin into small pieces, his mind wondering. There was also Avalon. She's said some things, things that made some sense. Too much sense for something as illogical as tarot cards readings. Was he really settling for second best? If he hadn't taken back his words, would something greater have come out of it? Knowing his partner, she probably just would have taken the first flight out to Guatemala or Peru or something.

"Avalon also said something..."

This time, Cam rolled her eyes.

"And you believe her?"

"Well, she got everything else right. Why not that?"

"Because she doesn't know you _or_ Dr. Brennan. And try maybe because she's a psychic and that you and I both know there is nothing scientific about tarot cards readings."

"She guessed Brennan was pregnant in my dream, with _my _baby."

"Wild guess."

"She told Bones that I was dazzled by her."

"Wi... how do you know that?"

"Angela told me," Booth replied, simply.

"Well, are you?"

Booth shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied, with a sigh. "I mean, she is beautiful, and sweet, and smart. But..."

He let out another, longer, sigh.

"Man, this is so messed up."

Reaching over to her friend, Cam squeezed his hand sympathetically.

"Well, Seeley, I already told you my advice."

"I know."

He smiled sadly at her before removing his hand from under hers.

"Come on," Cam added, getting to her feet. "You should go home and get some rest."

Booth nodded and followed her out of the bar. Giving his friend a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, he began walking away towards his car.

He felt lightheaded, a feeling that had nothing to do with the drinks he'd just had. So much things had changed in the last couple of weeks. It would have made _anyone_ feel lightheaded, right?

Unlocking the SUV door, Booth sat down at the wheel. His cellphone laid in the cup holder. Slowly, he reached for the small phone and flipped it open. His fingers lingered over the speed dial button that would dial her number. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pressing it.

Her voice sounded in his ear quickly.

"Brennan."

"Hey, Bones. It's me. Do you... do you want to meet for breakfast tomorrow?"


	2. Chapter 2: A dinner invitation

**A/N: Glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Here is the second one. :)**

* * *

"He did _what? _Oh my God!"

Temperance sighed, frustrated. She regretted telling Angela anything. She should have kept her conversation with Booth for herself. At least she would have avoided another one with Angela, one she would preferred not to have.

"Angela, will you stop dramatizing everything I say?"

Angela chuckled as she shook her head.

"Sweetie, Booth telling you that he loves you deserves some drama."

"No, it doesn't. I just want to forget about it."

"But why?"

"Because, Ange, he didn't mean it. He added this 'atta-girl kind of way' at the end."

"So? He freaked out."

"He didn't freak out."

For some reason, she just couldn't picture Booth panicking at the thought of being in love. He'd always tell her that it was an amazing thing to feel and to have in your life. For Booth to freak out about it didn't add up. Then again, a lot of things Booth had done in the past couple of days had been unlike him.

_He'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks._

"Yes, he did freak out, Bren. Why else would he have added that comment at the end?"

"Maybe because he didn't want me to believe that he was _in love_ with me, which he isn't."

A smile tugged at Angela's lips.

"Why do you care how he said it?" she asked, teasingly.

"I don't care."

Angela's smile widened.

"Yes, you do. I can see it in your eyes."

"Eyes cannot show emotions, Angela. They only transmit the information they gather to the brain so it can analyze our surroundings. The whole 'window to the soul' thing doesn't exist."

"Sweetie, Sweetie, Sweetie. Underneath your cold surface lies a warm heart."

"What?"

"So you're telling me that your brain analyzed that Booth isn't in love with you?" Angela asked, ignoring her friend's reaction.

"I thought about it. I came to the rational conclusion that his comment meant that he's not. He meant that he liked me as a friend and his partner, but that's all."

Angela rolled her eyes.

"Bren, look at me," she said, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. "Booth _loves_ you, whether you want to believe it or not, and has for some time now. Maybe things are clearer to him now because he's just had a near-death experience."

"He hasn't had a near-death experience, Ange. He was in a coma because he reacted badly to the anesthesia, that's all."

"Whatever you say, Sweetie. All I'm saying is that you're going to have to take your head out of the sand one day and face the truth. He's in love, and so are you. And if that brain of yours can't see that, then I can't help you."

Temperance frowned.

"But I didn't ask for your help."

Angela let her arms drop to her side as she sighed.

"I'll be in my office, if you need me."

"Okay."

Temperance watched as her friend walked away shaking her head. Letting out a faint sigh, she returned her gaze to the new remains on her table. Hodgins had been partially right when he said crime had gone up while she was gone. Four new sets of remains had landed on her autopsy table and were now waiting for her to analyze them.

Her eyes searched for clues but her mind remained somewhere else. Somewhere away from the lab, outside the Jeffersonian. There was a hallway and offices, and she had been in the comfort of his arms again, the pain of her own arm fading. His voice had soothed her, asking her to trust him. So she had. She had let her guard down completely for the few minutes it had taken the ambulance to arrive.

He had kissed her on the top of her head, repeating that he wasn't going to leave her and that he'd take care of her.

She thought of Angela's psychic. She had told her she didn't believe anyone could love her. She had been wrong, of course, and she had told her so.

There had been Sully. She had cared deeply about him, more than she had let on. She knew he had cared about her as well, probably much more than she had herself. He had spoken her language, using facts that she could never argue with. He had tried to get to know her for who she was, something most men she had met had never done.

With Booth, it had been different. They bickered all the time about everything. They were opposites that, to any outsider, weren't meant to get along. But they did... somehow. For some reason, it always all worked out.

Straightening up, Temperance took off her latex gloves, threw them in the bin under the table and looked at her watch. The digits showed 3:30 pm. Glancing one more time at the remains and deciding that leaving them on the autopsy table for one more night wasn't going to change much, she walked off towards Cam's office.

She found the pathologist going over some reports at her desk.

"Cam, I think I'll be going home now."

Camille looked up from her folder, surprised.

"But it's only 3:30."

"I know. It's just, with the case and everything, I just haven't had the time to unpack. And..."

"It's okay, Dr. Brennan. You can take the rest of the afternoon off."

Temperance remained in the doorway. Cam smiled.

"Go, Dr. Brennan, before I change my mind."

Temperance nodded.

_Or before you do, _Cam thought to herself.

"Thanks, Cam."

"No problem."

As Temperance turned on her heels and walked away, Cam shook her head and sighed.

* * *

Her cell phone rested on the table. She eyed it, unsure whether or not to pick it up. His face haunted her, his words echoing in her ears. They hadn't really had the chance to talk to each other since the end of the case.

After speaking to Avalon, Booth had walked in his office. She had tried to question him about the psychic's comment but he had simply ignored her. He had put on his jacket and told her he had important plans to attend to. She hadn't pressed the matter much and had waved off the tiny bit of disappoint she had felt at having to back to the lab, without him. This had been the previous day.

The vibration of her cell phone, intensified by the stillness of the living room, made her jump. Startled, she grabbed the phone. Her heart began racing as her eyes recognised the number.

"Brennan."

"Hey Bones. It's me."

She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling a strange sense of relief at hearing his voice.

"Do you... do you want to get breakfast with me tomorrow?"

The question took her off guard.

"Uh yeah, sure, Booth."

"Great! I'll pick you up around 7."

Temperance couldn't help but smile. He sounded so happy that she had agreed to meet him for breakfast the following morning.

"Actually, I have some free time right now. You could come over, if you'd like."

"Have you had dinner?"

"No."

"Thai food?"

Her smile grew even larger. He had remembered their favorite food.

"Sure. Thai food sounds good."

"Great! I'll be at your apartment in an hour."

As they hung up, Temperance threw aside the magazine she had been reading and got to her feet, her smile still on her lips.


	3. Chapter 3: Thai Food Dinner

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who's been reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying this story! :)**

* * *

"This looks so good." Booth said as he placed the small cardboard boxes on the table and opened their lids. "I haven't had Thai food in ages."

"I know, me too." Temperance replied, from the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink? I'm sorry, I don't have any beer."

"It's okay. Water will be fine." Booth replied, stepping inside the kitchen.

Grabbing the plates she had been holding, he retraced his steps and began setting the table.

As they sat down and began to help themselves, Temperance became aware of Booth's gaze on her. She tried to ignore him, concentrating way too much on the food in front of her, but the burning sensation spreading through her cheeks and her increased heart rate made it hard to do so.

"How have you been?" she asked, trying to divert Booth's attention to another subject. "Any headaches? Nausea? Confusion?"

"No, none of those. Things couldn't be better."

A hint of charm smile flashed across his lips.

"Good."

Silence fell instantly.

After making sure her apartment had been in order (which had been pretty useless) and freshening up, Temperance had returned to her couch. Grabbing her latest copy of Forensics Journal, she had began reading an article as she waited for her partner to arrive.

Her heart had jumped a beat when three loud knocks were heard at the door. She'd checked through the peephole and hadn't been able to stop the smile that had formed on her lips at seeing her partner out in the hallway, waiting for her to answer the door.

Tension had snaked its way through the door with Booth. Air had been filled with nervousness and awkwardness, feelings both of them had been unable to shake off. Now, as they sat together in silence, those feelings hung above them like the sword of Damocles.

"Bones, can I ask you a question?"

The question brought Temperance back to reality.

"Sure, Booth. Anything."

Her voice had turn suddenly gentle, taking Temperance by surprise.

Booth cleared his throat.

"That book you wrote, what was it about exactly?"

"Which book? I'm a published writer, Booth. I've written many novels."

"No, Bones." Booth replied, irritated. "None of the books you've published. The one you read to me. What was it about?"

"It was just a whole lot of non-sense, Booth. Nothing worth going back on."

The tension seemed to have tripled in intensity. Temperance dropped her gaze to her plate as her fork toyed with some noodles.

"Humor me."

His tone was serious. Temperance gulped.

"Don't you remember it?" she asked, stalling for time.

"I do. I just..."

Booth dropped his fork and looked up at his partner. His eyes bore into hers as though searching for something they couldn't find.

"I need to hear it from you."

"You already did hear it from me, Booth."

"I mean while I'm not unconscious, Bones. I want... I need to know which parts were real."

Sensing this was not an argument she was going to win, Temperance let out a faint sigh.

"Well, Kathy and Andy owned a club called..."

"The Lab, I know. All your characters were there, just playing a different role."

Temperance frowned.

"If you already know all this, why are you asking me?"

"Were you really pregnant?"

The question took her off guard.

"Booth, they were just characters."

"You didn't answer my question."

Temperance let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yes."

Booth nodded. Grabbing his fork, he resumed eating.

"Is that what you really want? Do you still want to have a baby? Because I can go back to the clinic and..."

"Booth," Temperance said, cutting him off, "it was just a story. Stories are fictional, hence not _real_. I'm not pregnant. It was irrational of me to want a child in the first place. I've changed my mind."

A brief silence followed.

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Were they happy together?"

Unsure of what to answer, or even if she wanted to, Temperance looked down at her plate. It was obvious what Booth really wanted to know but she couldn't bare to consider it. If she answered him honestly, she wasn't sure where it would lead. Booth wasn't his normal self, she kept reminding herself. Sure, the socks were back but clothing didn't make him who he was. Whatever came out of this conversation would only be altered when he would be back to his former self. He had already taken back his "I love you". What else would he take back once he'd be once again himself?

"Yes," Temperance finally replied, after much debating. "They were."

She felt the violent squeeze in the pit of her stomach as she thought back to her now deleted story. The happiness she had let herself imagine and live through her character had been enormous. As she had looked up from her laptop to the bandaged Booth in his hospital bed, it had pained her to know she would never have that with him.

Her stomach in a knot, she resisted the urge to push her plate away.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to protect you from that doctor."

"Don't worry about it." Temperance replied, surprised at this sudden change of conversation.

"I should have been there with you."

"You _were_. You shot him and you applied pressure on my wound so I wouldn't lose too much blood. You were there for me, Booth. Just like you always are."

A tiny smile tugged at Booth's lips.

"I guess you're right."

The smile spread across his feature. The twinkle in his eyes was back. Temperance couldn't help but smile back.

"Well I'm full." Booth announced, pushing back his chair. "Stay here," he added, seeing her about to stand up. "I'll bring the dishes in the kitchen."

Surprised, she remained seated and watched as her partner walked back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen, bringing dishes to the sink, rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher.

She moved from the table to the couch, her eyes never leaving him. She felt another tug at the pit of her stomach as she tried to picture this scene in another reality. A reality where her and

Booth were together, living in the same apartment. Then a ping to the heart as she remembered that he wasn't his normal self and that he was probably just being friendly.

"Do you still want to get breakfast tomorrow morning?" Booth asked, from the kitchen.

"Sure! Why not?"

"You want to go to the Diner or some place new?"

"Diner would be fine."

He was now leaning against the threshold separating the kitchen to the dining area. His dark brown eyes stared back at her, a glint of something new inside them. But, suddenly, the glint vanished and Booth straightened up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"So, how was your trip to Guatemala?" Booth replied, ignoring her question.

Temperance watched him move to the couch and take a seat beside her.

"_You _want to hear about my trip?"

"Sure." Booth replied, after a moment's reflection.

Temperance told him about the highlights of her trip: the bodies she had discovered, the people she had met. They had then moved on to what Booth had been doing as he recovered from his surgery, spending time with Parker and his weekly meetings with Sweets. When they had covered all the six weeks spent apart, the sun had long set in the horizon and stars were twinkling brightly in the cloudless sky.

"I guess I should get going." Booth announced, reluctantly.

"I don't mind you stay."

"It's kind of late, Bones."

Temperance looked up at her clock which showed 10:15.

"You could sleep here, if you don't feel like driving home."

The words had flown out of her mouth before she had been able to stop them. She looked up at her friend to see him staring back her, stunned.

"I have extra pillows and sheets." She continued, as nonchalantly as she could. "Besides, my couch is pretty comfortable. I've slept on it on numerous occasions."

Booth smiled.

"Sure. Why not?"

Booth watched his partner as she got to her feet and disappeared down the hallway. Every fiber in his body urged him to follow her in her bedroom, to take her in his arms, and to sleep with her cuddled up against him. He closed his eyes, trying to chase the thoughts away. He tried to diverge his thoughts towards his weekend planned with Parker but to no success. Her features were engraved in his mind and refused to leave.

_Take it back_, a small voice echoed in his ear. _Tell her you meant it. Tell her _NOW!

"Bones?" Booth blurted out, before he even knew what was happening.

"Yeah?"

Booth sighed.

"Just a pillow will be okay. I don't need a blanket."

"Oh... okay."

She reappeared, seconds later, with a pillow in one hand.

"Are you sure you don't want a blanket, Booth? What if you get cold?"

"I'll be fine, Bones."

He forced a smile then got to his feet.

They were standing so close to each other, Booth was pretty sure she could hear his heart racing inside his chest. He only had one desire: to hold her in his arms and never let her go.

"Thank you for letting me sleep here."

"No problem."

Tentatively, Booth took another step towards her. Then, reaching towards her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

Her body melted into his own perfectly as he felt her wrap her own arms around his neck. He was aware of every curve of her body as it pressed against his chest. His heartbeat quickened.

Then, slowly, they pulled away.

"Good night, Bones."

A smile stretch across her lips. Before he knew what was happening, he felt her soft lips against his forehead. He closed his eyes, gulping.

"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away.

The smile on her lips grew wider.

"You wanted a kiss on your forehead."

Then, before he could add anything else, she turned around and walked away towards her bedroom.


End file.
